Downtown streetlights on all night, all day

Government tends to be preachy and high-handed about energy conservation, but doesn’t always follow its own advice.

Streetlights in a large part of the downtown core, including these lights on King St., have been on during the day since last summer. Toronto Hydro says it is due to damage to the wiring grid caused by construction. (JACK LAKEY / Toronto Star)

When streetlights in a large part of the downtown core are on 24/7 for eight months, it seems as if the city doesn’t practice what it preaches.

Most of us are accustomed to government sermonizing about the benefits of energy conservation. We’re often reminded to turn off the lights, or not to water the lawn during droughts.

We expect the government to follow its own advice, by turning out the lights when they don’t need to be on, or making sure it doesn’t pour water down the drain.

And, when it doesn’t, people rightly think that government preaching about conservation is bull, and are more inclined to ignore the pontificating.

Edwina Taborsky sent us a string of emails she sent to Toronto Hydro and Mayor John Tory’s office, complaining about streetlights in the downtown core that have twinkled 24/7 since early in 2017.

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“They are on all day,” she said, adding, “The section is large, from Jarvis St. to Yonge St., from Front St. to Adelaide St. This has been the situation for eight months. The cost to taxpayers must be enormous. Nothing has been done.”

In a note to hydro and Tory’s office, she pointed out that “The sworn duty of Toronto City Council is to use the taxpayers’ money with due diligence and a duty of care.

“I consider that a malfunctioning and costly sector of services to the city — (one) that has been ongoing for six months — is an affront to the taxpayer and a violation of Council’s duty-of-care.”

We looked within the boundaries identified by Taborsky and found that not only were the lights on there, but they were also on as far west as Spadina Ave. on King St.

STATUS: We sent a note to Toronto Hydro, which is responsible for street lights, and got the following reply: “Unfortunately, we experienced a power outage in the area, caused by non-Toronto Hydro construction. The outage involves an underground fault that requires a complicated repair. In order to do the repair, we need to disrupt traffic, so we have to work with the city to find a time when this disruption would not affect any other road/lane closures and have the least impact on drivers. In the meantime, we found a temporary solution, but it only allowed us to have the lights either off or on. We aren’t able to turn them off during the day and back on at night. As a certain amount of lighting is required for public safety reasons, the decision was made to keep the lights on. The safety of drivers and pedestrians is paramount to the cost of keeping the lights on.”

Okay, but most people would think eight months is more than enough time to get it done.